This invention relates to a connector comprising a contact and a housing and, in particular, to a connector where the contact is press-fit in the housing.
For example, this type of connector is disclosed in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 to 10 of JP-A 2010-272320 (Patent Document 1), the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
As shown in FIG. 12, Patent Document 1 discloses a first connector 910 (mating connector) and a second connector 920 (connector) having so-called floating structure. The second connector 920 comprises a stationary housing 922, a movable housing 924 and a plurality of contacts 926. The movable housing 924 is supported by the contacts 926 so as to be movable, relative to the stationary housing 922, in a plane perpendicular to a mating direction.
In general, in a connector with floating structure, when its movable housing is moved in an orthogonal plane perpendicular to a mating direction, various stresses directed in various directions on this orthogonal plane are applied to its contact. Accordingly, supporting position at which the contact supports the movable housing might be shifted. In even worse cases, the contact might come off the supporting position.
Even in a connector not having floating structure, a problem might be caused when stresses are similarly applied to its contact held by a housing. For example, when the aforementioned stresses are applied to the contact under a case where the connector is mounted on a circuit board and where an SMT portion of the contact is fixed to the circuit board by using solder, the stresses might make the contact be loosely held by the housing. As a result, the contact might be moved so that the solder, which fixes the SMT portion to the circuit board, might be cracked.